Download Squad

Ten great Greasemonkey scripts

Ryan Sullivan — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 08:00:00 EST

Userscripts.org is a great site, but can be difficult to find all the great scripts that are available.

YouTube video only: This is a very small script that eliminates everything on a YouTube page but the video itself.
Auto add to Google Reader: Bypass the page where you click "Add to Google Reader" or "Add to Google homepage" page and adds your desired feed right to your Google Reader.
Textarea Backup: Provides a backup of text you entered into text boxes in case of the event of a crash. Just go back to the page and the text will be there waiting for you. This one is great for bloggers or frequent commenters.
Googlenlarge: A great Greasemonkey script that allows you to hover over an image from a Google image search and an enlarged preview of the image will pop-up on the same page; Allowing you to preview any image search result without having to actually go to the page that contains the image.
Google Homepage Resizeable Columns: Pretty self explanatory; just click and drag in the white areas between the columns of your Google personal homepage and you can adjust the width of the columns.
Digg.com comment helper: A great digg script that highlights the most popular comments on a digg story. Perfect for finding those user-submitted links to mirrors or the extremely hilarious comments.
Digg.com washer: Another one for digg that allows you to add words that the script will then block the stories containing those words. Access the options for this one by clicking on the "Show Options" link on the digg front page right above the top story. You can also toggle the digg side bar on and off with this one.
Google Reader preview: This one will allow you to view the originating website for a story in one of your feeds. Just go on over to the "List View" and click on one of the stories.
Gmail macros: Adds some more keyboard shortcuts for gmail as well as allows you to create your own shortcuts.
Google Auto Pager: This is a great script that eliminates the need to keep hitting the "Next" button for some more Google search results. It automatically loads the next page's results at the end of your current page. It also works great with the Firefox extension Google Preview.

*Bonus script*
Pagerization: This one is just like the Google auto pager script, only it works on multiple search pages. It is a bit buggy still, however, but might be worth it to keep your eyes on this one.

Filed under: Internet, Utilities, Mods

Ten great Greasemonkey scripts originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 16 Apr 2007 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bowmaster Prelude: Time waster of the day

Ryan Sullivan — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 08:00:00 EST

We figured, "Why not start the week off right; With a Time-Waster?" Bowmaster Prelude is a great flash game that is like capture the flag with experience points, upgrades, gold and castles. Kill more people and structures to level up and get more cash to get more upgrades. Upgrades range from better types of ammo to shoot from your castle to armies to help defend your castle and capture the enemy's flag. Extra points and gore are awarded for head shots.

Filed under: Fun, Games, Internet, Time-Wasters

Bowmaster Prelude: Time waster of the day originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 09 Apr 2007 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HowTo: Thunderbird & MS Exchange Server

Ryan Sullivan — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 14:00:00 EST

As you might be able to tell, we are avid Firefox fanatics at Download Squad. However, there are still a lot of people who don't use the entire Mozilla suite and are using Outlook for all their stand-alone email needs at home and at the office. This is due to the fact that most companies use Outlook and, as such, people are familiar with it. At Download Squad we like to say, familiarity breeds contempt.

So, here's an alternative. What's the word? Thunderbird.

You might have a puzzled look on your face right now. Maybe you even use Thunderbird at home but, at work? That's nonsense you say. Your IT department configures your Outlook client to work with the Exchange server. Fear not! It is now possible to use Thunderbird at home and work and still get all of your exchange server email as well as your company's Global Address Book.

First up, download Thunderbird if you haven't already, version 2.0 beta 2 worked best for me and has an up-to-date user interface that resembles Firefox's UI.

Full instructions after the jump.

Continue reading HowTo: Thunderbird & MS Exchange Server

Filed under: Business, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, E-mail, Office, Mozilla, How-Tos

HowTo: Thunderbird & MS Exchange Server originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 30 Mar 2007 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Andy's Death Quest: Time waster of the day

Ryan Sullivan — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 11:00:00 EST

Today's time waster is a tail of death, money, death, weapons and death. In Andy's Death Quest you have the option to play in two different modes: Story mode or death match mode.

In death match mode, you start out with easy opponents, no cash and no weapons. Working your way through your choice of death match gets you more money. Which, in turn, gets you more cash, allowing you to buy different and better swords, guns and/or bombs. The more it costs, the more it will help you through the more difficult levels.

Story mode was a bit of a let down. After Andy made his way through the game unlocking all available death matches, he's able to bring in his own weapons (Shotgun and Laser Sword are Andy's favorites) and had his pick of whatever type of villain he wanted to fight. However, in story mode you have a very limited spread of bad guys to test your strength out on as well as a limit on the amount of money received. Death match mode was much more entertaining for Andy. That and the pool of blood after a glorious victory of a savage battle!

[via digg]

Filed under: Fun, Games, Internet, Time-Wasters

Andy's Death Quest: Time waster of the day originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 30 Mar 2007 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Web 3.0?

Ryan Sullivan — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 07:00:00 EST

Red Interactive Agency, an internet website designing company, has seen the future and it's a whole new level of interactivity on the web.

On their little test site you're a randomly generated avatar with a generic username. From there, if you wish, you're able to choose an avatar of your choice as well as a username and your location. After all that, you can roam the site as you please. There is also a small chat window for you to talk to your fellow wanderers.

The true interactive fun is with the special keys that do other things. The home key makes your avatar do a little jig, and different avatars do different jigs. Press the up arrow key and you take off like a bat out of hell! Press the combo control along with shift and you break combo punches on nearby faces. Hold down the shift key while walking for a boost of speed, and page up/down to strafe up and down on the path. There are also built-in profanity filters to encourage others to be a bit more polite.

This level of interactivity could make visiting your usual sites much more fun. Just imaging flying around a tiny world, viewing pages within a site's structure!

Filed under: Design, Fun, Internet

Web 3.0? originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 30 Mar 2007 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CrossFTP: Firefox add-on of the day

Ryan Sullivan — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 10:00:00 EST

CrossFTP is a 2 pack of FTP goodness. As separated programs, they keep Firefox more stable and reliable for FTP tasks. It comes with an FTP client as well as a server application and only needs the latest version of JRE.

This one is very different to FireFTP because it can run as a standalone program. So, instead of opening up Firefox and going through the pull-down menus all the time, you can just visit your desktop for a quick double-click to FTP your heart away.

The default version is FREE, which provides full function general FTP tasks and local resource/archive browsing. The Pro version requires a license fee after a one month evaluation period, and includes multi-threading, secure transfers, and FXP file transfers.

Filed under: Internet, Utilities, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Mozilla, Browser Tips

CrossFTP: Firefox add-on of the day originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 22 Mar 2007 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Twitter hack: Site RSS to Twitter

Ryan Sullivan — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 07:00:00 EST

With the craziness continuing to skyrocket, Twitter is getting more and more popular as the days go on. One terrific addition that can be added to this craze is something called microblogging, where you give your twitter account a short update about what was just posted to your blog, and Paul Stamatiou has managed to find a way to make this cake for anyone.

With the 2 PHP scripts available at Paul's site, all you need to do is find a good RSS feed URL, a web host that has PHP and curl support and you're all set. After tinkering with various websites it was found that using Yahoo Pipes to create that RSS feed URL will work more often than just grabbing the RSS feed URL from the site you want to microblog about. Your results will be an update to your personal twitter account that contains the full title of the site's post and then a tinyurl that links to that post. Just a little something more to help spread the word about either blogs you are interested in or your own personal blog.

Filed under: Internet, Blogging, Mods

Twitter hack: Site RSS to Twitter originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 22 Mar 2007 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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FirefoxView: Firefox add-on of the day

Ryan Sullivan — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 12:00:00 EST

Today's add-on is a unique one for Firefox. Its actually an add-on that can install itself into Internet Explorer. FirefoxView will add a shortcut to the context menu of Internet Explorer, not Firefox, that will provide you the ability to view your current IE page in Firefox. This shortcut will also appear when you are in an IE Tab in Firefox. This one would be helpful for those of you that fix all your families computers out there. Just quickly tell your 80-year-old aunt to right-click and select "View This Page in Firefox" to quickly walk her through the problem.

[via Scot's Newsletter]

Filed under: Internet, Utilities, Windows, Mozilla, Browser Tips

FirefoxView: Firefox add-on of the day originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 19 Mar 2007 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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StatusBars: Firefox add-on of the day

Ryan Sullivan — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 14:00:00 EST

Recently we complained that the number of Firefox add-ons we use were causing grief with pop-up windows. We recommended ResizeIT to ensure that everything in the a pop-up window is visible. Now, we've found a different solution: StatusBars.

Stackable status bars add a ton of flexibility to the way you work. If you're in a Google mood, you can have a Google status bar that contains things such as Google Notebook and Gmail Notifier. Or, create a status bar for when you're doing normal browsing, with add-ons like No Script, Adblock, and FasterFox.

StatusBars isn't the easiest add-on to configure but, it does scratch a particular itch; Creating different status bars with different combinations of add-on icons.

Filed under: Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Mozilla, Browser Tips

StatusBars: Firefox add-on of the day originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 15 Mar 2007 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GoogIenlarge: Greasemonkey script of the day

Ryan Sullivan — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 09:00:00 EST

Still not satisfied with the new Google Image search page? This Greasemonkey script should make things a bit easier. With GoogleNlarge, you just need to do your Google image search as you normally would. Only now you only need to hover your mouse over the google thumbnail image and leave the rest up to the Greasemonkey script.

Hovering over the thumbnails will make the full sized image appear on the side of the screen. The only thing you need for this script is Firefox and Greasemonkey... and obviously Google image search results, too.

[via Google Blogoscoped]

Filed under: Internet, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Productivity, Browser Tips

GoogIenlarge: Greasemonkey script of the day originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 15 Mar 2007 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Flash Tron - Time-Waster of The Day

Ryan Sullivan — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 14:30:00 EST

The 1982 Disney sci-fi adventure Tron can be credited for turning many a pimply arcade geek into software developing gods... At least that's the way we like to think about it. Many great things came from Tron, if you follow our logic, but only one of them is today's time waster, Flash Tron.

For anyone who remembers the Light Cycle races in Tron, which took place deep within the heart of an evil super-computer, this game will no doubt be second nature. Racing along as you leave trails of "light" behind for your opponent to avoid. One slip and boom, you'll never see your User again. Warning, it's addictive.

[via Digg]

Filed under: Fun, Games, Internet, Time-Wasters

Flash Tron - Time-Waster of The Day originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 13 Mar 2007 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Buttons: Thunderbird add-on of the day

Ryan Sullivan — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 18:00:00 EST

Migrating to Thunderbird and want to customize it to the way you like? One thing that lots of people really like about Outlook is the option to close the original message window when you hit reply or forward. It helped keep the amount of windows open to a minimum, the same way that Firefox does with tabbed browsing. Thunderbird, however, does not have a similar option.

All this can be fixed with Buttons. With "Buttons!" you have a handful of new buttons to add to your toolbars. Three that you Outlook fiends might immediately want to add were "Reply!", "Reply All!" and "Forward!" to the message composition window. The exclamation points are to help you decipher between the add-on's buttons and the default Thunderbird buttons. The version of Buttons we've tried is on Thunderbird 2.0 Beta build 2; Far superior to 1.5. The interface is so much better and really close to the latest version of Firefox. This version of Buttons also has some great options as well as an archiving feature.

Filed under: Internet, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, E-mail, Mozilla, Browser Tips

Buttons: Thunderbird add-on of the day originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 12 Mar 2007 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Desktop Tower Defense: Time waster of the day

Ryan Sullivan — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 12:00:00 EST

Time to protect your desktop, with Desktop Tower Defense! Set up your weapons in a gauntlet formation for your enemies, or creeps as the game calls them, to walk. Pictured above is easy mode, where the creeps walk from the left of the screen to the right. For every creep that makes it through the other side you will loose one life. As time progresses the creeps get more health, so you have to continually upgrade your weapons in order to increase their damage, range and speed (speed is usually decreased as the weapons level increases). If the game is going too slow for you, there is also a "Send next level" button that you can press to immediately send in the next group of creeps.

Once you have mastered easy mode, there are other challenging modes that you can attempt. In these modes, however, there are two streams of creeps coming in; one from the top of the screen, that will go to the bottom, and the same from the left of the screen. No matter where they come from they will always want to go to where they are supposed to go. And the one main rule is that you cannot block any paths. The more creeps you wipe out, the more gold you get, the more you can upgrade your weapons. How many bosses can you kill? I managed to take out the first 3 or 4 of them.

[via digg]

Filed under: Fun, Games, Internet, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Productivity, Time-Wasters

Desktop Tower Defense: Time waster of the day originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 12 Mar 2007 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Disable XPI Install Delay: Firefox add-on of the day

Ryan Sullivan — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 10:00:00 EST

As often as I make an attempt to suggest Firefox add-ons that multi-task, every once in a while you come across a great one that does just one stupid thing which makes your Firefox experience better. The one trick pony I'm talking about is the Firefox add-on called Mr Tech Disable XPI Install Delay.

Its purpose might be easy to guess after reading the title; it removes the delay that you see when you install any Firefox extension. Now you might be asking yourself "Why does the delay exist in the first place?" It is part of a security measure that prevents websites installing anything into your browser without your knowledge. This add-on just disables the delay of the XPI install so, you'll still get a pop-up asking you to install now or cancel; In the interest of internet safety we should remind you, if you have XPI install delay turned off using this plug-in and aren't expecting a plug-in install... you should still click cancel. XPI Install Delay only removes the three seconds you have to think about not doing something stupid. It doesn't indemnify you from the idiocy of blindly clicking "Install".

Filed under: Internet, Utilities, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Productivity, Mozilla, Browser Tips

Disable XPI Install Delay: Firefox add-on of the day originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 07 Mar 2007 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Geography Knowledge: Time waster of the day

Ryan Sullivan — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 18:00:00 EST

Test your knowledge on where things are, with this Geography Knowledge quiz. You can test yourself on everything from bodies of water to states or even continents. You get three chances to guess the correct answer, and the more questions you answer correctly the higher your score gets. It even gives you the maximum possible score that you can get next to your score, so you can figure out how well you did.

Where do you live? Can you correctly guess the places surrounding you? There are a lot of places in this world, good luck getting them right!

[Via Digg]

Filed under: Fun, Games, Internet, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Time-Wasters

Geography Knowledge: Time waster of the day originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 05 Mar 2007 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google Reader Notifer: Firefox add-on of the day

Ryan Sullivan — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 08:00:00 EST

Normally I always have two tabs open in Firefox; one for Pandora and the other for Google reader. I would always have to go back and forth between both tabs in order to refresh reader, sort of an obsessive compulsive thing. But now, with Google Reader Notifier, I can just camp out on the Pandora tab until I get some new stories.

The reason I no longer need to go to my reader tab is because a built in function lets you click on the Google Reader Notifier icon to refresh the number of unread stories. A slick feature of this notifier is that you can customize your mouse buttons to do different things, such as update your count as well as open Google reader in a new tab. You also have the option of customizing how often it refreshes. Another great feature is that the count will give the exact number, even if it is above 100.

Thanks Ben!

Filed under: Internet, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Productivity, Mozilla, Browser Tips

Google Reader Notifer: Firefox add-on of the day originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 05 Mar 2007 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mojo The Monkey: Today's Time-Waster

Ryan Sullivan — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 10:30:00 EST

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, kitties and puppies, I bring to you today a time waster that puts all past time wasters to shame. I bring to you... Mojo the monkey.

The only other time waster that I know of that can possibly come close to this would be one that watches paint dry or grass grow; I haven't seen them yet. The point of this time waster is similar, however. The monkey, Mojo, is practicing his typing and you must watch every word he types.

If you're lucky, you will witness Mojo type a word that is a member of the English language. When, or if, this happens you are to highlight it and tag the word with your name. You will then be the owner of that word for all eternity! But you must act quickly, because someone else might tag that word before you, if it hasn't been tagged already that is. When Mojo's page fills up click new page and you will have a fresh new page for Mojo to continue practicing on. The more English words you tag with your name, the more points you get. Good luck!

[via Digital Inspiration]

Filed under: Fun, Games, Internet, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Time-Wasters

Mojo The Monkey: Today's Time-Waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 03 Mar 2007 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SPEEDcluster: Time Waster of the Day

Ryan Sullivan — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 11:00:00 EST

Our friends at Joystiq turned us on to today's Time-Waster, SPEEDcluster. The object of the game is to click and drag the cards from the bottom row onto one of the cards falling from the top. So, for example, you could click and drag the 7 onto the 8. You gain more points for creating longer chains of cards that can go in ascending or descending order. Your next move would be to place the 8 onto the just placed 7 to create the chain 8, 7 then 8.

The longer the chain is, the more points you receive. Bonuses in time and score are given for crazy long chains of cards, making for a very playable ~~time-bandit~~ game. Hint: you can place an ace onto a 2 to achieve even longer chains of cards.

[via Joystiq]

Filed under: Fun, Games, Internet, Windows, Time-Wasters

SPEEDcluster: Time Waster of the Day originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 28 Feb 2007 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toolbar Buttons : Firefox add-on of the day

Ryan Sullivan — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 08:00:00 EST

I'm the kind of guy that likes his viewing space. That's why I have a big monitor, so I can see more of what I'm looking at without having to scroll all over the place. So when I found out about the latest Firefox add-on Toolbar Buttons (TB), I just had to have it.

TB is a great add-on that is all about new buttons for your Firefox, Sunbird or Thunderbird toolbar(s). It comes with a large handful of great ones, and there is also a developer site where even more are being created for the different Mozilla products.

TB, by default, will give you a new toolbar. But, like I said, I like my viewing space, so that toolbar had to go. That's the great part about TB, you don't need that toolbar to get what you want. All you need to do is right-click on your existing toolbar and select customize. From this dialog box you can select fantastic new buttons to add to your default Firefox toolbar. Things like:

About:config- to be taken to your settings page in a new tab with just one single click
Bottom/Top- to go directly to the bottom or top of the current site you are viewing
Rename Tab
Hide Images
Print preview

This list goes on and on, so feel free to check out the others that are available that come with the add-on or from the developer site.

Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Productivity, Mozilla, Browser Tips

Toolbar Buttons : Firefox add-on of the day originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 28 Feb 2007 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Linkification: Firefox add-on of the day

Ryan Sullivan — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 12:00:00 EST

Linkification converts text URLS written on a page into clickable links. But there is much much more packed into this tiny Firefox add-on. This is a great add-on and to help reduce your frustration on forums and comment threads alike. Thanks goes to DLS reader kobewan, who pointed this out to us a while back.

With Linkification, you get a new icon on your lower Firefox status bar (a circle with a fancy "L" in the center), this is a quick on/off button. As you surf the net it will change colors, from gray to green or yellow.

If gray, there were no links converted on your current page.
If green/yellow, there were text url's that were converted into valid clickable links.

When you hover over the status icon a small tool tip pop-up will show you exactly how many links have been converted on your current page. It's an end to the routine of "Highlight, copy, CTRL-T, paste, Enter".

[Thanks kobewan!]

Filed under: Internet, Text, Utilities, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Mozilla, Browser Tips

Linkification: Firefox add-on of the day originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 27 Feb 2007 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Context Search: Firefox add-on update

Ryan Sullivan — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 11:30:00 EST

Yesterday I did the daily Firefox add-on about SearchWith, a great little extension that requires you, the user, to go to a site, do a search and try and figure out how to put the url into the options to make it work. Sounds confusing, doesn't it? I was a little hesitant to post about SearchWith, because it took me a little while to get it up and running, but it was all worth it though, because John was kind enough to suggest Context Search in the comments.

If you missed the post yesterday, I was looking for a Firefox add-on that would allow me to highlight some text, right-click on it to bring up a shortcut menu and pick a search engine to search for that highlighted text. What Context Search does is just that.

Continue reading Context Search: Firefox add-on update

Filed under: Internet, Windows, Mozilla, Browser Tips

Context Search: Firefox add-on update originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 20 Feb 2007 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ResizeIT: Firefox add-on of the day

Ryan Sullivan — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 09:30:00 EST

Every once in a while I get a pop-up window in Firefox and the window is a weird size, cutting off a lot of text, images and even buttons that I need to click on. Some times this window can be resized by just clicking and dragging at the corner of the window, but other times the window cannot be resized at all. I recently found out that some of the windows that are popping up in weird sizes because I have too many add-ons. Some add-ons add icons to the bottom bar of the Firefox browser and some pop-up windows can't handle all of them, and that is where ResizeIT is there to help me.

ResizeIT is a quick and easy way for resizing any window, regardless if it can be resized by clicking and dragging or not. With just the click of Alt + 1-4, depending on what size you need. Flipping through the different sizes does not effect what is in the window at all. So if you are commenting in a Google blog in a pop-up window it will not erase any text you already entered.

Continue reading ResizeIT: Firefox add-on of the day

Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Mozilla, Browser Tips

ResizeIT: Firefox add-on of the day originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 20 Feb 2007 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SearchWith: Firefox add-on of the day

Ryan Sullivan — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 09:30:00 EST

I had 2 main goals with search engine extensions in my Firefox (FF) browser. One of them was reached with YubNub in my search bar, allowing me to search any website for anything without having to actually go to that website. My other goal was to be able to just highlight some text and be able to search any website for that text without having to actually go to that site first. This second goal has now been achieved, with SearchWith.

Searchwith gives you the ability to highlight some text, right-click on it, click Search With and pick the services you want to use. But the fun doesn't stop there.

Continue reading SearchWith: Firefox add-on of the day

Filed under: Internet, Utilities, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Productivity, Mozilla, Browser Tips

SearchWith: Firefox add-on of the day originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 19 Feb 2007 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Firefox add-on page gets overhauled

Ryan Sullivan — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 15:00:00 EST

Lots of big changes going on in the add-on area of the Mozilla website. A Mozilla add-on can be any of the following: Extension, theme, dictionaries in different languages (for FF 2.0's spell checker functionality), search engine or a plugin.

The biggest change is my personal favorite: The addition of the much anticipated Sandbox. If you go to the add-on site, you are only looking at public add-ons. However, those are just the tip of the iceberg. If you go to the add-on site and log into your account you will be able to activate the Sandbox feature. This allows you to view extensions before they are made public. These type of add-ons are either just getting started, being updated, or getting their final polish before being pushed to the public side. In order to be able to view the Sandbox add-ons, you first have to activate the feature. To do so, just log into your account and click on your user name, to the right of the search bar, and just check the box. Then you will be able to view either the Sandbox add-ons or the Public ones by clicking on the links labeled so on the top of the page.

Even more great features, after the jump...

Continue reading Firefox add-on page gets overhauled

Filed under: Design, Internet, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Mozilla, Browser Tips

Firefox add-on page gets overhauled originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 18 Feb 2007 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Extension List Dumper: Firefox add-on of the day

Ryan Sullivan — Sat, 17 Feb 2007 15:00:00 EST

With all of these new Firefox extensions I'm letting you know about, how are you bragging to all of your buddies? What you need is an easy way to dump all of the titles of your extensions into a comment on the net to let everyone know about the hundreds of new extensions that we are going to be covering! And you can do that in just a few short steps, with Extension List Dumper.

With Extension List Dumper, you can save your list to the clipboard in text or html. Other options include having them numbered, including the date they were installed, their descriptions, Mozilla ID number and the url of the extension. You are also able to just send the list to the printer or just save it as a file on your hard drive. In your add-on menu, you will see the above picture for this extension's options. This is to allow for a quicker exporting of the list. Otherwise, you will find the dump option in your add-on window. Just click on the "Dump List" and let 'er rip.

Feel free to give it a test in the comments below. I, on the other hand, am going to keep mine a bit of a secret. You are going to have to just keep on reading my add-on posts. Biggest list wins!

Filed under: Internet, Text, Utilities, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Productivity, Mozilla, Browser Tips

Extension List Dumper: Firefox add-on of the day originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 17 Feb 2007 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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FireForm - Firefox Add-on of the Day

Ryan Sullivan — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 15:30:00 EST

Today's Firefox add-on is actually a response to a question that was asked in a post I did about the Firefox extension InFormEnter. A reader that goes by the name J. Malenko asked: "Anybody know of a (free) extension that will fill in the whole form automatically with preset defaults? Automatically for me doesn't rule out a context menu entry like 'Fill in this whole form'."

In response to this question, I bring to you the Firefox extension FireForm. This is a customizable extension that, with the click of one button, can fill in an entire page of forms. It still needs a bit of work, but gets the job done. First, you have to add a profile. To do this you go into the Tools drop-down menu and hover over FireForm then click on Profiles Management. A new window will pop up allowing you to add a new profile. You can name it what ever you want--this actually has nothing to do with your Firefox profiles. Once the profile is created, restart Firefox and go back into the Profiles Management window. This window should now have a bunch of general text fields for you to fill in things like your name and email address. Now, if you go to a page that asks for any of this information, all you have to do is click the new icon you have in the bottom bar of Firefox that has two F's in it and the supplied information will be filled in automatically.

But there are other forms that you will come across that are not covered by the general fields you just filled in. For those type of fields you will need to do two things. First, go to that page that has those fields that are not covered by the general ones and right click on the ff icon and select "Display fields". This will change all of the form fields to a blue color indicating that if you hover over them it will let you know what it is asking for. So, for example, if you hover over a username field it might say something like "fireform : [fieldname = username][name = default]". Now that you have that info, step two is to go to Tools > FireForm > Advanced Profiles Management. This window is where you are able to add any variables that are outside of the general forms that you filled in after you set up your profile. So, to add username to FireForm, fill in your desired description, then the username that you want to use, and then username for the trigger, or whatever "fieldname" is equal to for you. Now, a word of warning: some sites have different trigger values for the same thing. So you might need some time before Fireform is up to its full potential.

This is still a great extension. You are able to have multiple profiles for different people that use the default profile on Firefox. And you can fill in an entire page with just the click of a button. FireForm does still need a bit of work, however. One thing that I immediately see a need for is to be able to right-click on the FF icon and then click on Advanced Profiles Management. Just to make it easier to add new items instead of having to go through the Tools menu. Other than that, I'm loving it. So I hoped this one helps you out more than InFormEnter, J. Malenko. I think it's a step up.

Filed under: Internet, Text, Utilities, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Productivity, Mozilla, Browser Tips, Unix

FireForm - Firefox Add-on of the Day originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 15 Feb 2007 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Save Image in Folder - Firefox Add-on of the Day

Ryan Sullivan — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 10:00:00 EST

With great photo sites like Flickr and Photobucket, you're going to find more and more great pics out there. And just think about how much time you waste to get just one of those photos from the website to your hard drive. You have to right-click, Save As, pick the destination... you know what I mean. And you can just think about how many times you do that in your life. You have better things to do with your time, and Save Image in Folder is here to help you with that.

With this Firefox extension, you are able to rename and save photos to anywhere on your computer with just two clicks of the mouse. And setting it up can't be more easy. Just browse for the path and name it whatever your want (for example, Desktop and My Pics in the imageabove). By default, this extension will keep the original name of the file, but you can make it so that each file has the same name with incremented prefix and/or suffix. And you can totally get rid of that download window that always pops up, allowing for a simple 2-click download, all while changing the name, incrementing the prefix and downloading it to a folder of your choice. You can also have it set up so that it opens the picture with a program of your choice right after you download it. This is a great extension for anyone from typical photo browsers to bloggers.

Filed under: Photo, Utilities, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Productivity, Mozilla, Browser Tips

Save Image in Folder - Firefox Add-on of the Day originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 14 Feb 2007 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sys Info for Windows - Download of the Day

Ryan Sullivan — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 17:30:00 EST

Tired of going between multiple programs to find out all of the useful information that is sitting on your computer? Time to get a break with System Information for Windows (SWI).

SWI is a must have for everyone! This program does it all, combining God knows how many programs into one neat little package. SWI can give you any information about your software, hardware or network. With all of the tools that SWI has to offer, you are able to recover any password (hidden or not), product keys or serial numbers. You can also monitor CPU usage, network traffic and any open files. All of this information can also be exported to a file format of either text, comma separated values (CSV), HTML or XML for record keeping purposes.

This program is a lightweight stand-alone app, weighing in at a hefty 1.46 MB. So it would be a fantastic addition to your utility USB jump drive or to just have sitting on your desktop for everyday usage.

[via Google OS]

Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Freeware

Sys Info for Windows - Download of the Day originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 12 Feb 2007 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Update Notifier - Firefox Add-on of the Day

Ryan Sullivan — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 16:30:00 EST

I don't know about you, but I have quite a few Firefox extensions. Every once in a while I would have to go into the add-on menu and hit that update button and then restart Firefox if there were any new updates. This "every once in a while" was not a routine check. I really just did it when I installed a new extension. Leaving me blind to any possible updates that could make my extensions run better, or even new features. All of this is taken care of with Update Notifier.

I can foresee the comments now: "Lazy!" or "Just use the built-in update feature". I know, I know, this may seem like a copy of the way Firefox does things, but this is actually a very helpful, and more customizable extension. So why not just let Firefox check the Mozilla add-on site for any updates? Because of the customizations that you can do with this extension. The most useful feature to some of you out there is that you are able to customize when and how often Firefox checks for updates. You can have it check for updates each time Firefox opens and/or every 6/12/24/48 hours. So, instead of adding time to Firefox's startup, it can check while you are browsing (just be sure to disable Firefox's auto update feature: Tools > Options > Advanced > Update and uncheck everything). Then, another features of Update Notifier is that you can have a prompt pop up and ask you if you would like to restart Firefox or not. Which will give you the option of using the new updated features of your extension as soon as possible.

Also, I can't keep on top of all of the Firefox add-ons out there. I need your help! Please shoot me your suggestions to other great Firefox add-ons in the comments below. Be sure to leave your website/blog info for a link-back if your suggestion makes it to the Download Squad's main page!

Filed under: Internet, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Productivity, Mozilla, Browser Tips, Unix

Update Notifier - Firefox Add-on of the Day originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 12 Feb 2007 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dodge: Today's time-waster

Ryan Sullivan — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 08:00:00 EST

Today's time-waster is very similar to Squares, with the main difference being the little red circles. In Dodge, you are the blue circle and need to touch the blue square. Every time you touch the blue square an new one will appear. The catch is that for every square you touch a new little red circle appears as well, and this is what you want to avoid. And these red circles can be tricky as well, for every new red circle moves in a different direction and speed, making for a very interesting game once you are playing for a while.

Dodge is played with the mouse only. Where ever you move the mouse is where your blue circle will go. For every blue square you touch you score goes up by five. The bottom of the page holds your current score as well as your high score for that session. Enjoy!

Filed under: Fun, Games, Internet, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Time-Wasters, Unix

Dodge: Today's time-waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 11 Feb 2007 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Super Mario Bros 3: Crazy Firefox theme of the day

Ryan Sullivan — Sat, 10 Feb 2007 18:00:00 EST

When it comes to Firefox themes it can be hit or miss, but this one takes the cake. This Super Mario Brothers 3 theme is very detailed, taking a little bit of everything that is familiar from your favorite Mario games.

Normally I don't really like tinkering with my theme, because the colors are such a stark contrast to the web page you are viewing and the buttons are usually some crazy weird new symbol that will take you some getting use to. But this theme has a light color to it, so navigating around the web is easier on the eyes.

This theme has all of the pull-down menus and pop-up menus changed to match the idea behind the Super Mario Brother games. My favorite part about this theme is that all of the slide bars are warp pipes. And then, once you get your theme installed and set, you gotta play the flash Super Mario Brothers game!

[Thanks Joe]

Filed under: Design, Fun, Games, Internet, Kids, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Mozilla, Mods, Unix

Super Mario Bros 3: Crazy Firefox theme of the day originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 10 Feb 2007 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SearchLoad Options - Firefox Add-on of the Day

Ryan Sullivan — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 11:00:00 EST

Today's extension goes great with the YubNub add-on that I suggested a week ago. SearchLoad Options lets you take control over what happens when you are searching from the Firefox search bar. This extension is chock full of useful features, such as clearing the search field after a user-set amount of time. You are also able to have it get reset back to another search engine, one that you use the most. So, if you are done searching IMDb or Amazon, you can have it set to go back to Google after a few seconds.

The feature that I love most about SearchLoad Options is that you can have your search results pop up in a new tab instead of the current tab. One of the most annoying things about Firefox is that the search bar results appear in your current tab. Most of the time I, if not all the time, just use the shortcut key to get the cursor into the search field (Ctrl + E or Ctrl + K) and start typing and hit enter when I'm finished. And then I start kicking myself in the butt if I'm half way done with a post and the search results just popped up in the same window, erasing all my work. Now I just do the same thing and my results come up in a new tab. I highly recommend this one for those keyboard lovers out there.

And, as always, if you have something better than this extension, or any extension for that matter, please leave me your suggestions in the comments below.

Filed under: Internet, Utilities, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Productivity, Mozilla, Browser Tips, Unix

SearchLoad Options - Firefox Add-on of the Day originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 09 Feb 2007 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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InFormEnter - Firefox Add-on of the Day

Ryan Sullivan — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 15:30:00 EST

Tired of constantly having to type in your username to log in at the forums? What about your name and address when you want something shipped to you? Well type no more! Instead, use two clicks of your mouse with InFormEnter.

With this extension you create an initial list of things that you might normally be entering into a text field to replace the generic suggested terms. For example, a common username for logins, your zip code, your home address, first name, last name and so on. Then, when you encounter a text field, such as in a Google search or an order form awaiting input of your home address, all you need to do is click the blue arrow to the right of that text field and a small pop-up menu will present itself with a list of the items you set up. And, if there isn't something in your list, there is an option for adding the text that is in the text field to your InFormEnter list. You can make it as long as you want or as short as you want. But the most useful things on my list are my multiple email addresses, home address and a few different usernames for the different sites I am a registered user at. You can also use this extension to remember the last password that was entered in the text field. This is a great extension and makes surfing the net easy with a little bit less dependency on the keyboard.

Filed under: Internet, Text, Utilities, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Productivity, Mozilla, Browser Tips, Unix

InFormEnter - Firefox Add-on of the Day originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 08 Feb 2007 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Swords and Sandals 2 - Today's Time Waster

Ryan Sullivan — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 14:00:00 EST

Battle your way to glory in Swords and Sandals 2! You are a gladiator in ancient Rome fighting your way through duels and tournaments. From each battle you gain experience as well as other possible upgrades, such as the ability to carry more arrows for your bow. As you gain more experience you are able to level up and assign skill points to your character traits. The higher some points are the better items you can get. Just hover over an item and the shop keeper will let you know what level your trait has to be in order for you to have that item/weapon/armor.

Swords and Sandals 2 is a great time waster. The first step before you go into battle is to name and create a custom character. And the best part is that the entire game is played with the mouse in the browser, which happens to be my preferred way of playing time wasters.

[via Digg]

Filed under: Fun, Games, Internet, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Time-Wasters, Unix

Swords and Sandals 2 - Today's Time Waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 08 Feb 2007 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Last.fm's music library is about to get a lot bigger

Ryan Sullivan — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 09:00:00 EST

The worlds fourth largest supplier of music, Warner Music Group, has announced yesterday that they will be releasing their entire music collection to use for all of you Last.fm users out there.

With over 15 million users, Last.fm has blown up over the past few years as one of the best social music sites on the net. With integration into digital media players on your computer, such as your iTunes player, Last.fm is able to learn the patters of music listeners. As the first of its kind, this Last.fm and Warner Music merger should prove helpful for both parties: Last.fm with its ad-based player and site should be getting a lot more hits, and Warner gaining the knowledge of how and what people are listening to. And with a lot of artists under their belt, Warner Music may be getting the better end of that deal in their hopes of making Warner something a bit more than the fourth largest supplier of music. I really like Last.fm and make daily use of their services with the Pandor/Last.fm mashup.

[via 901am]

Filed under: Audio, Business, Fun, Internet, Social Software

Last.fm's music library is about to get a lot bigger originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 08 Feb 2007 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazing Webpage Emailer - Firefox add-on of the day

Ryan Sullivan — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 08:00:00 EST

It was reported yesterday that the desire to be able to email pieces of the web would be greatly desired on multiple platforms and in Firefox. Well my fellow readers, that time has come. Today's add-on is JKN's Amazing Webpage Emailer (AWE).

With AWE installed in Firefox, you are able to email entire webpages to anyone you know, whether they are password protected, session specific, require registration or even have framesets. And when I say entire webpages, I mean entire. Everything from text fields that are filled in, to Google ads in the side of the page. And you can do it in four different ways (in detail after the jump). Each way will result in a new tab or browser window opening to JKN's site, which is where you input who you want to send it to (email addresses and an optional name), the subject of the email and the body of the email.

Continue reading Amazing Webpage Emailer - Firefox add-on of the day

Filed under: Internet, Utilities, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, E-mail, Productivity, Mozilla, Unix

Amazing Webpage Emailer - Firefox add-on of the day originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 07 Feb 2007 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google's Webmaster Tools get an update

Ryan Sullivan — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 17:00:00 EST

We all want to know how our websites are doing in this crazy World Wide Web of ours. Google just made this process a little bit easier with a great update to their Webmaster Tools.

With the additions of the "Links" tab to the tool set, finding out who is linking to your site could never be easier. With just a quick verification of your site's ownership you can quickly and easily find all internal links, link-backs that are within your domain, and external links to any page of your website or blog. So now, instead of using Google's Link operator, you can use this new feature. You are also able to download the entire table of links to your computer for quicker and easier navigation of the entire list.

In the process of typing this article, the list processing was a bit slow and the "Links" tab just disappeared. So it still has a few kinks to work out, but it should be completely live within a day or so. This would be a great tool for any webmaster and is completely free for use on any site you have.

Filed under: Business, Design, Developer, Internet, Utilities, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Blogging, Productivity, Web services, Google, Unix

Google's Webmaster Tools get an update originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 06 Feb 2007 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Auto Copy and Copy Plain Text: Monday Firefox add-on double-feature

Ryan Sullivan — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 10:00:00 EST

These Firefox extensions are great for the type of person who is constantly copying and pasting while in Firefox, perfect for bloggers. The first one is Auto Copy.

Auto Copy is a great extension that makes copying and pasting anything mere child's play. If you wish to copy something, all you need to do is highlight the text that you wish to copy. And that's it! What you just highlighted is now on your clipboard awaiting the paste command. The part I love the most about Auto Copy is its built-in paste shortcut key functionality that uses the mouse wheel. Those who use Linux know what I'm talking about. All you need to do is press the mouse wheel down while hovering over the area that you wish to paste to.

One thing that you might notice about Auto Copy while using it is that it will also copy the formatting that is with the text that you are trying to copy. For example, if you are copying some text from the header of a website, that has over-sized bold text that is several different colors, it will bring the size, boldness and color along with it. This may not show up when pasting into a small text field, like a Google search, but it will show up if you are posting to a rich text field, like a blog post. To get around this, all you need is the Copy Plain Text extension.

With Copy Plain Text and Auto Copy together in action, you are ready to copy anything and paste it anywhere, in Firefox that is. Auto Copy also has built-in support for Copy Plain Text. All you have to do is check the box for it in the Auto Copy options. And there is also a shortcut to Auto Copy in the Firefox status bar. If you do not want something copied to the clipboard you just need to click on the small image of a note pad (shown above with a green check mark on it). When the green check mark turn into a red X, and Auto Copy is off.

Filed under: Internet, Text, Utilities, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Blogging, Productivity, Mozilla, Unix

Auto Copy and Copy Plain Text: Monday Firefox add-on double-feature originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 05 Feb 2007 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MyDesignIn: Social home renovations

Ryan Sullivan — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 12:00:00 EST

Hold off on calling up that architect before you start your next kitchen renovation, and save the gas of having to drive over to The Home Depot to talk to a design consultant. Your first stop should be MyDesignIn. Now in public beta, MyDesignIn takes renovation and redesign to the next level: online social planning.

The way MyDesignIn works is you go around the Internet and start "collecting" different products that you like. With my test I did a Target run and picked out a couple things really quick. When you find something that you like, you then add the item to your design. You then add all of the information about the product in tabular form for the 2D representation of that product. After you have all of your items bookmarked in the system, you then create the room you wish to put them into. It is a pretty elaborate design model that they have in MyDesignIn. You can create multiple rooms and have them saved as their own file, or you can create one whole floor of your home (to scale) and save that as well. Once your room is done, just drag and drop your products into place from the side bar that has all of your bookmarked products in it. The design of the room/floor also includes dimensions for everything that is not the products that you put in. For example, if you have a wall with a window in it, there will be dimensions for the overall wall as well as dimensions from the corner to the window's edge on both sides of the window and then a dimension for the window itself. But there are not any dimensions for product placement within the room.

Continue reading MyDesignIn: Social home renovations

Filed under: Design, Internet, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Productivity, Social Software, Unix

MyDesignIn: Social home renovations originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 04 Feb 2007 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Launchy Final 1.0: Download of the day

Ryan Sullivan — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 10:00:00 EST

As reported earlier, Launchy is a quick and light launching application for the Windows platform. With the quick press of your Alt + Space Bar keys, a tiny little window will appear awaiting your command.

Wit this new release, Launchy is now better than ever! It comes with a large hand full of skins and you can also choose a different skin by downloading one from the Skin Forums. So you can choose to have that sleek Vista look or that old school Windows Notepad look. Either way, you will be able to get everything up and running in no time now that you do not need to search your computer for that freshly installed application. But the fun doesn't stop there with this newly released full version. Launchy now supports plug-ins as well! It already comes with four plug-ins allowing you to do extra functions such as searching your computer, entering a web address and then being taken to that site and Launchy also automatically catalogs your Firefox bookmarks. The creators will also be creating more plug-ins and they anticipate that other users of the program will create additional plug-ins as well.

Filed under: Design

Launchy Final 1.0: Download of the day originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 04 Feb 2007 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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